Forest 27 will not be demolished – Cabinet

By NATION REPORTER

GOVERNMENT has finally decided that it will not re-gazette the controversial and infamous Forest 27 and the properties built in the area shall not be repossessed or demolished.
It has been disclosed that Government has instead granted what it has classified as Special Leases to owners of properties in the areas that were previously excised in the Lusaka East Forest Reserve 27.
According to a Cabinet decision made on September 12, 2023, Government has however decided to re-gazette the Lusaka East Forest Reserve 27 to put in place a Statutory Instrument to recognise the remaining 281 hectares of the forest reserve.
According to a Cabinet Memorandum issued recently, the remaining 281 hectares of Forest 27 shall now remain a discharge zone for Chalimbana River as well as to deal with deforestation and forest degradation and the current reduced water recharge potential of Lusaka East.
“It is necessary to re-gazette the Lusaka East Forest Reserve No. 27 to put in place a Statutory Instrument to recognise ONLY the remaining 281 ha of the Lusaka East Forest Reservc No. 27 as a recharge zone for Chalimbana River as well as to deal with deforestation and forest degradation and the current reduced water recharge potential of Lusaka East,” states the Cabinet Memorundum in part.
According to the Cabinet decision, the re-gazetting and granting of Special Leases for the remaining 281 ha of the Lusaka East Forest Reserve 27 would make the properties more sustainable and ecologically friendly by allowing for the regeneration of lost forest cover in open areas. “This will restore the water recharge potential of the forest and support the Chalimbana and Chongwe river catchments area,” the Cabinet decision states.
Forest 27 was Lusaka’s major forest comprising 1.7 million hectares by Government Gazette Notice No.238 of 1943.